Hello everyone! After many months of wrestling with the pros and cons of writing this post, I have decided to detail (and update) the various aspects of the upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now there are hundreds, and I do mean hundreds, of guides, websites, and resources on this subject. In fact, I bet you searched Google and saw this fact for yourself. However, what I hope to carry out is to offer you (my readers) with a comprehensive guide of all the information. After contemplation, I decided to break this guide into a few sections. This makes it easier for you and easier for me. Feel free to comment and let me know what needs to be updated or added. It will go along way to keeping this a reliable source of information.

Type

Magocratic/Theocratic Empire

Leader

Sith Emperor

Secondary leaders

Dark Council

Capital

Dromund Kaas

Other major locations

Korriban, Balmorra, Ilum

Theatre of operations

Balmorra, Alderaan, Belsavis, Tatooine,Taris, Voss, Quesh

First things first, why the Sith? Truthfully, who hasn’t wanted to be evil. I remember Bioware’s previous game SW: Knights of the Old Republic. I found that instinctively I leaned towards the darker side of the force. I’m not really sure why, but something about force gripping someone to death for annoying me was, well, fun. In TOR, the Sith Empire is the top dog. They are on the rise repressing the Galactic Republic into nothing more than the Rebel Forces, from the Star Wars movies. To grab from my MMO background, I will say that majority of players will be Sith. There will be an overload of 13 year olds trolling the general chat channels. Let’s face it, it is fun to be evil. 🙂 However, an interesting mechanic of TOR is that light and dark are subject to your choices along the way. This does not changes that any Sith force player will be using dark force powers, and Republic force players from the light side. But, it is good to see that Bioware is keeping the primary mechanic of KOTOR, choice. Below are the classes of the Sith Empire:

Type

Unicameral Federal Republic

Leader

Supreme Chancellor

Secondary leaders

Senate, Jedi Council

Capital

Coruscant

Other major locations

Taris, Belsavis, Tython

Theatre of operations

Balmorra, Alderaan, Belsavis, Tatooine,Taris, Voss, Quesh

The Galactic Republic, stalwart defenders of peace, justice, and democracy. The Republic is the underdog of the galaxy tangled in a cold war against the reformed Sith Empire. There is a certain draw (and power) to being the underdog working to come out on top. The background story of Star Wars itself was modeled on real world players. The Republic represented democracy, Europe, and the United States, where the Empire represented Nazi Germany. In addition, it can be speculated (from videos of classes and starting zones) that Republic players will have beautiful scenery. And, whether RPers like it or not, plays heavily into which side players tend to pick. The beautiful planet of Tython or the dusty and dreaded lands of Korriban granted that all the planets are quite even in terms of scenery.

I’m on the fence about which allegiance I will decide. I’m fervently decided on a force class. However, I like the look of the Jedi Knight to the Sith Warrior and the Sith Inquisitor to the Jedi Consular. Ultimately, it comes down to where my friends end up landing as MMOs are a social game, when you get down to it. Therefore, I leave you with a fundamental question: which side will you choose?